Gorilla Study -Crimson Daggers Bloodsports challenge Part 3

Morla Gorilla

I figured I would do something new so I made a model out of plasticine.  In Ireland plasticine is called morla (Irish word).    In truth it was a very rough modelling.  Took me an hour or so.  I took some photos at different angles. It was primarily to get some help with rendering.    This may or may not have helped as you will see in the next step

Gorilla Study -Crimson Daggers Bloodsports challenge part 2

Thumbs - gorilla

 Above  are the series of thumbs that I worked on.  I dropped the more static ones and went wit the following.  Looking at the now possibly the first standing pose would have been stronger but below is what got worked on.  I added in some colour which broadly was the final colour scheme. 

Chosen pose

Gorilla Study -Crimson Daggers Bloodsports challenge

Gorilla Photoshop Study 3 hrs

I went ahead and took part in the last Crimson Daggers Bloodsports challenge.  This is becoming a big commitment as the pace I work at and the time it takes to do the studies and get the piece to any level of finish is pretty much all the time I have available.  They are proving to be really good at getting a working process together and forcing me to make decisions and stick with them.  So for that reason I have stuck with them.  Besides that Dan Warren is giving a lot of coaching and there  are a group of people doing them so it is probably closer to a college situation.  So for now other projects + goals are on hold.  Anyway above is a study for what was the Gorilla Guardian IP.  

45 minutes

90 minutes

Reference

The Elusive Grand Landscape

Came accross this resource online.  

The StrobeOhio Blog: Workshop Wednesday

This site is dedicated to photography and  by association Photoshop.  They have a great video resource.  I watched one on landscpe photography which was great.  I dont do much in the way of photography other than gathering images for reference but ..

whether photography or for image making purposes the same challenge must be met.   How to produce an image that moves us and among all the possible subjects landscapes may be the most difficult. 

This presentation by Moose Peterson is great. 

He talks about how he builds an image and provides examples of how light, colour and texture build towards a great composition.  If your not much into the photography dont worry the vast proportin of the presentaion is about the image not the equipment.  Interestingly most of the questions at the conclusion were about the equipment...............

Moose also has a website full of images and instruction. 

Gauntlet challenge -Submitted Entry

Gauntlet challenge -Submitted entry

Well with time pushing on and alot of work to do I got cracking on the image.  I did make composition changes as I went along.  I did this work over 5 evenings maybe 3 hours each evening and I still didn't finish it. Still lots of detail to be added and rendering for the main light source + some environmental work.  I got it as far as I could. They all look very wooden.  I may go back and finish when I have had more practice. .  .

Gauntlet Challenge -archer study

With 3 characters left I choose to work on the archer next .

Archer Photoshop Study

  I was particularly interested in getting a good image with hands available.  Te reference colour was not ideal but the hands were visible. I had two more characters left but was running out of time as I knew rendering all 4 characters would take time.  So rather than taking time to do last 2 studies I went straight to the final composition . 

Gauntlet Challenge -Thumbnails

Thumbnail sketches

The main aim of the Gauntlet  challenge was to establish a good composition.  I did some thumbnails but locked into a composition early on and then tweaked it as I went along.  I could have been more adventurous but with 4 characters and my poor anatomy skills - this was enough for now. 

Gaunlet Challenge - Female Warrior Study 1

Female Warrior Photoshop Study

I took part in the Crimson Daggers Bloodsports challenge no 3 -Gauntlet.  So the first study I did was of a female warrior.  I found a reference and completed the study.  The main reason I chose this image was because of the costume.  Rendering a lot of textures.  The skin tones were off. 

Lawrie Williamson

 Long Bar Dogs    Lawrie Williamson

Lawrie Williamson is an artist I came upon while randomly searching for something else.  The subject matter for most of the most recent work available is  of flat capped men in pubs and outdoors with dogs and other animals.  The treatment of these subjects is what lends theses images their life.  The medium of oil appears to be applied in washes and the light dances around the image picking out just enough detail.  Check them out.

ARKHIPOV Abram, Ice passed - Masters Study 1

After Arkhipov - The Ice Has Passed Photoshop Study

 This is a Photoshop study I completed of a Arkhipovs Ice passed.

 

Arkhipov -The Ice Has Passed  (1895)

The  reference was downloaded from the site 200 Russian Painters. 

I wanted to do a study to improve my brushwork and have a painterly look.  I used just 2 brushes in this.  I had originally planned to do it all with one.  All the figures were completed with one and when it came to the landscape I reverted to a hard round brush for some areas.  It took me about 8 hours over 3 sessions. 

 I chose this painting as it has great light. I don't get to see very much of this kind of light where I live and especially this time of year.

I really enjoyed doing this and I will definitely return to do some more. 

 

Swamp Elder - Final

Following on from the previous post  I went away and reworked the swamp elder piece. 

I addressed the creature by designing a alligator / human.  I probably should have pushed this design further but anyway.  I put in some light to add some focus.  I added some eggs just to give it more narrative.  So that's it.  That's all I am going to do on this one.  Lessons learned, will move on to the next challenge 'Gauntlet'.  No doubht will learn a whole lot of lessons there too...

Swamp Elder Submission

Swamp Elder

After completing the studies I went ahead and put this image together.  I went for a pool with some ruins and misty background.  As for the elder it was a total cop out.  I did not go further and design a beast of any description but simply rendered out an alligator of sorts. About 6-8 hours work.  

This is what I submitted for the challenge. 

When I looked at it again in the cold light of day I thought not a great result and I should have pushed further.  Sooooo I took this image and reworked it some more. 

Swamp Elder Studies part 2

To get some more studies in for the swamp elder challenge I did a study of a portion of a painting by Frederic Edwin Church titled Heart of the Andes. 

Heart of the Andes  Photoshop study

It was recently  profiled on Charley Parkers Lines and Colours blog.  I would have liked to have worked more on this but time was moving on.  

I had some photos from a swamp I took a tour in, which was outside New Orleans and I did a quick study from one. This I should have definitely spent more time on.

Swamp study

Anyway time had run out and I need to forge ahead and put the image together.  The final part was a very quick set of alligator studies. 

Alligators Study

Time was up.  Had to get an image together. 

Alligator texture study- Swamp Elder

Alligator texture study

I decided to go ahead and try the Crimson Daggers Swamp Elder Challenge.  So I did started putting together some studies that should help.  The studies were what I could complete before the Christmas holidays.  This was a texture study in Photoshop.